The Extended Phenotype
By Richard Dawkins
The Long Reach of the Gene. Oxford University Press, 1982.
Summary of The Extended Phenotype book by Richard Dawkins
A proposal for a new view of evolution that puts genes instead of individual organisms at the center of evolutionary change, shakes up orthodox views about natural selection, and questions our fundamental understanding of why the natural world looks the way it does.
Chapters in The Extended Phenotype book summary
What do you get from this book? A mind-bending argument about the central role of genes in evolution
Evolutionary biology has focused on the individual organism since Darwin, but genes are an alternative site of natural selection
Genetic determinism is a detrimental misunderstanding of Dawkins’ gene-centered evolutionary argument
There’s no such thing as perfect—evolution has no end goal and adaptations aren’t always entirely beneficial
The Darwinian concept of “fitness” is confusing and overly-complicated, but this is cleared up by shifting focus toward genes
Replicators are the fundamental unit of natural selection, and we should revise our definition of evolution to reference them
Even though asexual reproduction looks like the work of replicators, organisms are just vehicles that carry genetic replicators
Outlaw genes work against the good of the rest of the organism, but modifiers fight back
“Survival of the fittest” is no longer an adequate explanation; the selfish individual idea doesn’t account for complex adaptations
It’s more useful to think about selfish DNA—like surplus DNA and the “jumping genes” which mix up the genome
Beaver dams are a fascinating example of the way genetic replicators shape the world through extended phenotypes
Extended phenotypes can be shared across species, like parasites which affect the phenotypes of their hosts
Genetic replicators benefit from the ability of organisms to cyclically reproduce, as each new generation is able to develop differently
Summary of the key insights
Selected critiques in brief
Final word
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The Extended Phenotype — Book Summary Snapshot
Who should read The Extended Phenotype book
- Biologist and geneticists
- students studying the natural sciences
- anyone interested in evolution
- animal lovers
- scientific philosophers
About the author of The Extended Phenotype
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins is an award-winning biologist whose profound ideas on genetic selection helped introduce a new field of evolutionary biology. He was the Professor for Public Understanding of Science at Oxford as well as a professor of zoology at UC Berkeley. Dawkins has published dozens of academic papers, articles, and books including The God Delusion and The Selfish Gene.
Books similar to The Extended Phenotype
Related books that explore themes found in The Extended Phenotype
Richard Dawkins
How We Know What’s Really True. Free Press, 2011.
Nick Lane
Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life. Oxford University Press, 2005.
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